Noise making tube



C. J. McCOY NOISE MAKING TUBE Sept-23, 1941 Filed April 19, 1941 INVENTOR. (Der/.55 J? N 6'0). BY j%& T oAlVE Patented Sept. 23, 1941 UNIT ED STATE S PAT E N T *O FF-IC E NOISE MAKING TUBE Curtiss J. McCoy;Indianapolis, ind, assignor to Air-Line Mfg. Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application April 19, 1941, Serial'No. 389,343 Claims. (01. 46 -178) This invention relates to an air or like operable noise making structure which, however, is neither of whistle or flute type.

The chief. object of this invention is to pro- .vide a device that inherently is operable by air currentflow, therein, such interior flow being of reverse character and automatically repetitious whenof predetermined intensity.

The chief feature of the invention consists inproviding in an elongated tube, near the remote "end, thereof, a biased seat together with a 'fiap adjacent the seat for intermittent engagement therewith for noise makingpurposes, such flap being normally, constrained toward nonseating. engagement and air movable into such engagemenh'the latter causing air reversal adjacent the seat thereby sucking the flap from the seat for. release to, its constraint in turn again permitting air flow throughythe tube for flap seat engagement and noise formation and then flap'release and return. I

Asa toy when a continuous current of air is applied to ,a tube adjacent the end most remote from the seat, and flap there willresult a succession of pops resembling engine explosions. Mouth-application of air should not seal-the tube end, and neither should the end of tube nearest the flap and seat be sealed.

A tube-of this character can beused as a com tainer for'confections, etc, v V A tube of thischaracter can be used as a 'bicycle addition to simulate motorcycle operation. A tube oithis character can be used as an aeroplane kiteaddition to simulate engine operation thereof.

Other uses of kindred character will readily suggest themselves from the foregoing applications.

Other objects and features will beset forth more fully hereinafter. o The full nature of. the invention will be understo d from the accompanying-drawing, the fol-1 lowing description and claims:

Inthe drawing- Fig. 1 isa longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of the invention, full line arrows indicating :air flow ior noise formation, dotted line arrows indicating reverse air how for repetitious action, the arcuate dotted line indicating flap member travel. 7 o 7 V a 4 Fig. 2 is, a transverse sectional view taken .on line 2-52 of Fig. land in the direction of the arrows, the flap being in idle or normal position.

Fig.3 is afaceview of the seat and the flap member in engagement, therewith and 'is taken in plane parallelto the plane of the seat. I

In the drawing 10 indicates an elongated :tube having the air entering end or mouth II and the remote end [2. Herein, such tube is shown as substantially cylindrical but such form is not essential.

determines the-tone, the longer tube producing the lower tone. The tube may be of any suitable material. A relatively inexpensive form is that commonlyknown as a mailing tube! Near the remote end I2 and suitably secured therein by press fitting, friction fitting, pinning, adhesive or the like is a smaller tube 13 having aflforward face '14 biased to the longitudinalaxis o'f-the tube and herein at' approximately 45" Suchaninsert may readily be formed by taking a tube like tube l3 but not quite twice the required length and then severing such tube medianly and on the bias which simultaneously forms identical insert tube members like the tube l3. 7 g r Since it is highly desirable that the face l4 be-srnooth .and' be ina plane-it is preferred to surface'face M by the addition of a seat member 15 adhesively secured to that face. Seat member-lfi'rnay be of calendered stock such as two -ply Bristol" board or patent coated newsboardfi or'may be of calendered face light cardboard, etc. a

Member l5, since tube J H! is cylindrical, has an elliptical. opening I6 therein slightly smaller thanthe opening through tube l3. This is slightly oliset (compare tube 4-3 exposed portions l1 and I 8 I v -A ifiap member [9 of substantially elliptical character includes a tail or anchoring portion 20.1 Flap lllhasa -hinge crease connection '2l therewith. Immediately adjacent thereto as at 22', see Fig. =1, the flap 'is curled thereby imparting to the flap constraint to the position same as shown in Fig.1. 3 I :The' tail 2!! is secured to the rear or remote portion of 'seatl5 and when the flap 19 fully engages the seat, 'the'o'pen'ing M therethrough is.closed. V I 5 IAn 'a'ir current, intermittent or constant, is applied. near 'mouth It of tube II) and, having a componentzin the direction of the arrows at the right-hand of the tube mouth, initially flows through the tube, see full line arrows at the remote end 12 of the tube.

.Some Iair, however, 'gets behind the flap l9 adjacent the'tube wall and to escape tends to force fentirefiap I9 downwardly and rearwardly (referring tov Fig. 51).. As the free end of the flaprrnoves' toward andislightlybeyond the'longitudinalev axis of the tube, substantially the full force of the air stream impinges upon the flapper and slaps itxupon the seat member. V sudden flap engagement creates the sound or pop which is resonated by the tube. When the fiap isseated, air ceases to flow completely through the tube. The air stream, however, is then deflected by the flap and caused to reverse its travel. This provides suction on the forward face of the flap member to return it to the position shown in Fig. 1. Then the air again passes through the tube as initially described and the action is automatic and repetitious.

It will be apparent that air can be applied con tinuously or intermittently and directed towardthe mouth of the tube in line therewith or at an angle thereto.

It has also been ascertained that suction ap plied to mouth I I is equally as effective in obtaining operation. Moving the tube rapidly through the air toward the right (referring to Fig. 1) will also elfect operation. A ninety degree sweep at sufiicient velocity will produce about ten distinct ,pops. The velocity of tube travel through dead" air determines the periodicity of the sounds or pops.

One specific form of structure is a tube about 1%" in diameter, 12 inches in overall length and with a 45 bias seat. This angle may vary between35 and 50. The length of the tube may vary also.

As shown by dotted lines 30, the tube may have opposed holes therein. These appear to have little, if any; effect on the operation of the device but will raise the tone. Such holes may be utilized to seat opposite ends of a kitchen match type stop member 3|. The confection, insertable in mouth ll, thus cannot injure the flap member or seat member, for member 3| serves as a guard or stop.

The flap found satisfactory is of 60# kraft pa per. f heavier stock be used the device would be harder to operate, in other words, a greater air velocity would be required. If lighter stock is used it has been found that it may Weaken at the hinge and finally tear. Also, it is affected by weather conditions, that is, will warp and also loses, its'r-elative bodily stiffness.

1 It also has been found that the curling of the flap l9 as at ZZinsures perfect performance, that is, no-duds or silence even if the flap became warped. Such curling also imparts springto the flap resulting in quicker opening of hole I4 by'the flap and slightly retards the closing movement, as aforesaid, that is, it holds back the closing or seating movement of the flap until past the center and then the remainder of fiap travel is accelerated resulting in a louder noise.

While the invention has beenillustrated and described in great detail in the foregoing-"description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein, as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, are all considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended The invention claimed is:

1. A noise making tube structure including an elongated tube, a seat forming member therein having a face biased to the longitudinal axis of the tube and positioned closer toone end than the other end, and a curled mounted flap member adapted to completely close'the' tube when engaging the seat but not ordinarily engaging the same, a stream of air entering the tube from said other end initially causing engagement be-- tween flap and seat by impingement of the flap upon said seat and 'then moving the flap from the seat by suction action of the air stream as it claims.

- closest to the said one end of the tube.

- 3. A structure as defined by claim 1, characterized by the seat member being similar in general outline to the outline of a similarly biased section of the tube, and the flap member having an outline similar thereto.

4. A tubestructure as defined by claim 1, characterized by the elongated tube being of cylindrical character, the seat having inner and outer outlines of elliptical outline, and the flap mem-- ber having an elliptical outline smaller than the outer outline and larger than the inner outline of the seat.

5. A tube structure as defined by claim 1, characterized by the seat member including a fiat sheet with an aperture therethrough and its face engageable with the flap lying in a plane and having. a smooth finish.

6. A structure as defined by claim 1, characterized by theaddition of ,a sleeve within the tube andhaving a biased face to which the seat member is secured.

7. A structure as defined by claim 1, characterized by the addition, of a sleeve within the tube and having a biased face to which the seat member issecured, the seat member including a fiat sheet with an aperture therethrough and its face engageable with the flap lying in a plane and having a smooth finish.

8. A structure as definedby claim 1, characterized by the addition of a sleeve within the tube and having a biased face to which the seat memberis secured, theseat member including a flatsheet with an aperture therethrough and its face engageable'. with the flap lying in a plane and having 'a smooth finish, the aperture in the 'seat member being of lesser area thanthe opening through the sleeve and slightly ofiset relative thereto, the hinge mounting of the flap being juxtapositioned relative to the portion of greatest-eccentricity. .1 v

9. A structure as definedby claim 1, characterized by the flap member being hingedly mounted at one end upon the seat memberat a portion closest to the said one end of the tube, said flap. having-an initial curl formation included therein and immediately adjacent, the hinge mounting portion for the purpose described.

10. A structure as defined byclaim 1, characterized by the .flap member being hingedly mounted at one enduponthe seat member at a portion closest to the said one end of the tube, said flap havin an initial curl formation included therein andv immediately adjacent the hinge mounting. portion for the purpose described, a sleeve within the tube and having a biased face to which the seat memberissecured,

- the seat member including a flat sheet with an aperture therethrough and its face engageable with the flaplying in aplane and having a smooth finish, the aperture in the seat member being of lesser area than the opening through the sleeve and slightly offset relative thereto, the hinge mounting of the fiap being juxtapositioned relative to the portion of greatest eccentricity.

ICURTISYS J. MCCOY. 

